Letter from + Xinjiang | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/series/letter-from+xinjiang
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Letter from China: season of sacrificehttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/13/letter-from-china-urumqi-sacrifice
The post-Ramadan sacrifice festival is a time of celebration in Urumqi, though it is not for the squeamish<p>The season of singed flesh is upon us again. Abdul Eli is sitting cross-legged on his workshop floor, blowtorch in one hand and hammer in the other, next to a pile of severed sheep heads. His small son sits beside him gripping the horns of an erstwhile ram as the skull is prised apart and the hair burned carefully away from the soft tissue around the face. He is preparing the cranium and its contents for soup.</p><p>Moneyed folks rarely keep the heads of their sacrificial sheep. Along with the pelt and feet, their donation to the community for mosque funds is considered part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tithe#Islam" title="">tithe</a> during the most sacred <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qurban" title="">Kurban</a> or sacrifice festival of the year. Most are also too squeamish to prepare the entrails, stomach and hocks and are relieved that they can be recycled in a meaningful way for those who consider them a delicacy, or who are too poor to afford meat.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/13/letter-from-china-urumqi-sacrifice">Continue reading...</a>ChinaWorld newsXinjiangTue, 13 Nov 2012 14:04:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/13/letter-from-china-urumqi-sacrificePhotograph: Mikhail Mordasov/GettyThe Kurban sacrifice festival advances 10 days every year, arriving 70 days after Eid. Photograph: Mikhail Mordasov/GettyPhotograph: Mikhail Mordasov/GettyThe Kurban sacrifice festival advances 10 days every year, arriving 70 days after Eid. Photograph: Mikhail Mordasov/GettyRuth Ingram2012-11-13T14:04:04Z